A 19-year old college student from the Bay area is recovering at Bayfront Medical Center Thursday following a terrifying encounter with a shark.

Family members say Jenna James, home on summer break from NYU, was swimming Wednesday afternoon with her sister behind their family’s St. Pete Beach home.

Emergency crews say the attack happened in the intracostal waters of Boca Ciega Bay around 3:00pm.

Jenna’s sister called 9-1-1 after witnessing what happened and is now being credited with pulling Jenna from the water and applying pressure to her massive wound using a beach towel before paramedics arrived.

“The young lady is lucky her young sister was there,” said St. Pete Beach Fire Marshal Ernie Hand. “I’d call her a hero.”

First responders say the bite stretched from right below Jenna’s knee, to the bottom of her calf. She was rushed to Bayfront and underwent surgery Wednesday evening. Rescue crews did not believe the injury would be life threatening.

A family relative says Jenna graduated from Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg in 2008, before heading north to attend college at NYU this past Fall.

“I really, really hope she’s okay. I hope she won’t have any permanent damage,” said a cousin who describes Jenna as an avid runner.

It is still unknown exactly what type shark might have bit the college student, but emergency crews say shark bites in the intra coastal are rare. It’s only the second major shark attack in Boca Ciega Bay since a man was killed back in 2000.

The latest incident has longtime residents of St. Pete Beach on edge, wondering if the water around their homes is safe for swimming.

“I’ve lived by the water all my life and never experienced anything like it this close to home,” said St. Pete Beach resident Jim Hutto.

Neighbor Matthew Igoe says he’s seen lots of bait fish swimming up to the seawall behind his house and believes that source of food may have drawn the shark closer to shore.

Bayfront Medical Center is currently not releasing Jenna’s condition but experts say in shark bite cases, infection is often among the biggest concerns. We’re told Jenna is currently receiving heavy doses of antibiotics.

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